by Dick Hardman
Henryk realised Anna was not at work today, and he had not seen her since last night at the party. She must have given herself away. The man could not be Peter; he was too smart to be caught. It had to be Andrzej.
Peter had warned them all in Alderney that if they were injured or captured, they were on their own. He would take all steps necessary to protect the others and the mission. Perhaps he had murdered Andrzej, he was a liability now. Peter also told them not to trust each other, sensible enough, but perhaps it was Andrzej who had betrayed them at the safe house, not Dan Stockley who had driven them there.
***
“My client also said that whoever tells them everything about their mission will be paid handsomely, protected and given a secure well paid job at the end of the war.
“We will win, you know.
“I don’t believe you are the spy they are looking for. In a way, that is a sad thing, because it means we will have to stop seeing each other. It will be too painful to continue, knowing we will have to end it later.
“I hope you are the spy, I know the spy is so valuable to my client that he will have no trouble keeping his side of the bargain.”
Henryk’s brain was racing, she was offering him the way out of his predicament. All he wanted was a good life, and to spend it with her.
How could he resist? It was clearly over for Anna and Andrzej. They were damned loyal, but it would only be a few days before one of them gave up all they knew, about the beacons, and the mission.
“Please Henryk, I beg of you, please say you are the spy. We can go to my client and you will be safe.”
Henryk slipped his left hand into his left jacket pocket… his right hand went inside the jacket.
***
Jane gasped as he drew out the Luger, flicked off the safety catch with his thumb and started to screw on the silencer. Her basic training told her the gun may not yet be cocked and also, he would not fire until the silencer was securely tightened. The misaligned device could explode as the bullet smashed into it.
She grabbed the silencer in her right hand, levering it upwards and away from her. Her left hand gripped the rear of the pistol for added leverage. The gun fired and a shower of shrapnel struck the ceiling. She screamed in agony, the recoil cocking mechanism had shattered the fingers of her left hand, but still she hung on to the silencer.
Henryk swung his fist hard up into her exposed left ribs. He felt them crack and collapse under the force of the punch. She cried out in anguish and could no longer point the pistol away. He could not shoot her though, without removing the silencer and hand cocking the gun. Instead, he coolly and cold bloodedly smashed his fist again into the same broken ribs.
He knew the first blow would silence her, it would be torture to breathe, let alone scream. The second blow would force the bone fragments and shattered ribs into her lung. She was now bleeding into her lung and would drown in her own blood. The air would leak out into her chest cavity, a tension pneumothorax, quickly suffocating her with each breath.
She instantly fell to the floor gasping like a beached fish, trying to cope with the excruciating pain.
***
The bedroom and kitchen doors flew open and several men charged in. After a brief scuffle, they forced Henryk to the floor. One of the MI5 men assessed Jane’s injuries and recognised from her rapid panting, becoming ever shorter and quicker, that he must do something immediately.
“Ring for an ambulance, tell them it is a punctured lung, and it has collapsed.”
He reached down and ripped open her blouse, recoiling in horror as he saw the large red bruise to her ribs forming before his eyes. He removed a penknife from his pocket, opened the small blade and felt for the gap between her good ribs, below her brassiere. He made a small incision and could hear the air bubbling out through the blood on her white skin, he sucked air out of the slit, then sealed it with his finger.
Blood was spewing from Jane’s mouth as she fell into a coughing fit.
“Quick but very shallow breaths Jane, the ambulance is on its way.”
The minutes dragged by and she was starting to drown in her blood filled lungs. The sound of the ambulance bell ceased as it pulled up outside.
“Hang on Jane, any moment now and they will be here to help you.”
She smiled feebly at him and turned her head to see Henryk. He was still pinned to the floor, watching her as she struggled to breathe. Their eyes locked and she smiled intensely at him. It was the cruellest thing she could have done.
Had she forgiven him?
The smile started to fade and as the ambulance men rushed in, the light faded from her bright blue eyes, they became glassy and unfocussed.
Henryk had watched her die, believing she still loved him, in spite of what he had done. He would have to live with that for the rest of his life, though that would be short.
He had completely misjudged the situation. If he had just said nothing or had denied being a spy, she would be alive and loving him, and he would still be a free man. If that were not enough, he had put in jeopardy the whole mission upon which Germany was depending.
Instead he thought he could kill her, breaking all links with him, and just vanish into the ‘nowhere’ from which he came.
Now he doubted Jane’s claim that Anna had been caught, or that Andrzej had been captured or murdered.
Henryk turned his face to the floor and wept silently.
Caplin’s surprise. 22nd December 1943.
It had just turned 9.00pm, when Sir Philip Stern phoned John Caplin at his home, waking his wife and baby in the process.
“Good evening to you John, Sir Philip here. I have something for you, better than any present you might have, waiting to be opened under your Christmas tree.”
“Oh! It’s you Sir Philip, Merry Christmas to you and your family. What has happened, have the Germans surrendered?”
“Don’t be flippant boy; we have just intercepted a message from Germany to your adversary, Karl Strom. Looks like the bounder is testing whatever he and his team have brought here. It is set to take place between 18.00 hours on the 26th and 02.00 hours the following morning. Jerry didn’t have the decency to say where, though.
“Another thing, Strom needed an Ernst Huber to come and help him track down somebody who appears to be betraying him, and his team. Do you have someone informing on him that you haven’t told me about?”
“I have no idea who that could be sir, it is nothing to do with me, and more’s the pity.”
“I sent the decoded message to you at your office, I was disappointed to note you weren’t there. This war is not being conducted to suit your sleeping habits, don’t you know!
“At least Huber is not coming, so that swine Strom will continue to be shorthanded, and I hope betrayed by a person or persons unknown.
“The good thing is, knowing he is being betrayed will eat away at him. He will devote so much thought and energy towards uncovering the perpetrator, he will ultimately make a big mistake, and you need to be there when he does.
“So up you get you lazy blighter, go and catch him. I doubt he will be sleeping!”
“Of course Sir Philip, I am already on my way. Thank you so much for calling.”
With his head in a spin, Caplin replaced the receiver.
“Sorry Margaret, Sir Philip wants me back at work immediately. I’d best go to Latchmere House and keep up with an operation there, set up by Steve Davis, hours before he died.
“Just because Stern doesn’t need sleep, he expects everyone else to be sleep deprived. We are all worn out in the department, and without sleep we will make mistakes. Then the Germans will prevail. I actually wonder whether the Germans could be worse than Sir Philip.”
He kissed Margaret and his now silent daughter Angela, ‘goodbye’.
Anna’s surprise. Evening, 22nd December
After a sumptuous dinner, the maid cleared the table. Sir Matthew and Anna went into the drawing room for further drinks, and to co
ntinue their most enjoyable conversation.
At 11.55 pm, Anna eased herself up from her deeply upholstered armchair and, rather giddy from the effect of the alcohol, asked the question that had been troubling her all day.
“Well, Sir Matthew, this has been the most wonderful evening of my life. I did not know food could be so delicious. Your company has been so stimulating. Although I never want it to stop, I am very tired and I would like to go to my room now. Where will I be sleeping?”
Sir Matthew smiled warmly, his dark brown eyes twinkled mischievously as he replied softly.
“I had rather hoped you would want to be near me, and share my bed.”
Anna had been wondering if this was a possibility, but dismissed it as absurd.
Now the price of her freedom no, her life, was to be paid!
“Sir Matthew!” she gasped, feigning a deeply shocked demeanour. “That is impossible, out of wedlock. I am not that sort of lady. I don’t know what gave you the idea I would do such a thing.”
For an instant, a look of grave disappointment showed on his face, but he recovered his warm smile to perfection.
“Please forgive me Anna, I have fallen in love with you. I forgot myself and have insulted you. Of course you have your own room. I will take you to it.
“Now that I have made an utter fool of myself, I have nothing left to lose. May I ask you to marry me?”
Anna was so stunned, her mouth fell open, and no words came.
Her training to deal with the unexpected had kicked in. She was not the silly woman that most men who hardly knew her thought she was. On many occasions, her calculating nature had brought out the appropriate response. There was only one thing she could say!
She paused. The soft melodic chimes of a grandfather clock announced the start of a new day.
Contingency plans. 22nd December 1943
It was 10.00pm. John Caplin was in the operations room at Latchmere House, also known as Camp 020. He paced the room, awaiting the outcome of Jane Smith’s encounter with Henryk Robak, instead of being at home with his wife and child. Caplin was very tired and had little faith in the girl Jane. Her whole scheme hinged on a love affair, and her belief that the man was desperately lonely. It was true that most of the German spies had been turned by offering them suitable inducements, along with the overwhelming incentive of avoiding the hangman’s noose. Was the power of love that strong? Jane had set up the operation, and everyone had to run with it.
A phone rang at 10.15pm and Caplin turned to see if it was important.
It was!
A yell of, “Got him!” rang out, as Henryk’s capture was confirmed, followed by the sombre news of Jane’s death.
Now everyone was seething with anger, vowing she would be avenged when they caught and hanged the lot of them.
***
Peter was furious, neither Anna nor Henryk had turned up at the 10pm rendezvous and it was now just after midnight, actually the morning of the 23rd. The meeting was to prepare for the planting of a test beacon, and only he and Andrzej had arrived.
“They are not coming are they Andrzej. That puts us in the middle of a disaster. I needed everyone to experience the actual planning that goes into choosing a target and later, take part in planting the beacon. So far, theory is all we have experienced.
“I have not yet selected the actual target, but we could have done that together.”
***
Unknown to Peter, in response to his request to test a beacon, Germany planned to send 10 V-1s, fixed to the underside of individual aircraft. As they approached the limits of the British radar, the deadly payload would be released one at a time, at one minute intervals.
The aircraft delivery was the only way to be sure that the missile’s basic stability, and general guidance issues, did not interfere with the accuracy of the test. The gyro system that kept the V-1 pointing at England and level in flight, was still unreliable whereas, the beacon detection circuits appeared to function perfectly, as soon as it was within 10 miles of a beacon. There was another big issue with the rocket motor. If the missile tipped nose down when low on fuel, as it would be when close to target, the motor would cut out and it would fall from the sky prematurely.
The missiles were free to home in on the beacon, and the number that hit the target would actually confirm the effectiveness of the system. Once the beacon was destroyed, any following V-1s would fall nearby, masking the fact that there was a targeting system of devastating accuracy.
When the actual planned mass attack took place in the New Year, each night there would be 10 or so beacons placed on individual targets, and the V-1s would be aimed and launched from the French and Dutch coasts. To conceal the fact that the V-1s were being guided by a beacon, there would be a number of random strikes that might have no strategic value.
***
Peter continued talking to Andrzej.
“If both Henryk and Anna are missing, it points to their capture, and we are faced with the task of trying to either get them back safely before they talk, or silence them. In any case, we must remove beacons and equipment from their lockups. There might only be a small window of opportunity to do this, depending on who breaks first, Anna or Henryk.
“Andrzej, I want you to clear Anna’s lockup and move everything into your own. Keep all her grenades in the van with any ammunition fitting my Luger. Remember, reset the booby trap when you leave her lockup.”
“Are we going to try and get Henryk and Anna back?” Andrzej did not ask about the other option, killing them was too horrible to put into words.
“Our first priority is clearing the beacons, then we need to find out where they are. What we do then depends, but killing them is our last option. We have all come so far together, I can’t face that thought just yet.
“I want you to take me to my garage, so I can collect my car. I have Henryk’s lockup to clear, as well.”
They felt their way in thoughtful silence, through the misty blackness of the night, back to the van parked a short distance away.
As they neared the garage where the Jaguar was parked, Peter directed Andrzej to a side street and got out of the van. He didn’t want nosey neighbours to associate the van and Jaguar.
Peter had scribbled down the address of a lockup in the row where Anna had hers. If Andrzej was captured with the address on him, it would not be helpful to the enemy. He handed Andrzej the paper.
“Anna’s lockup is nine units up from this address. When you have dropped off the beacons, meet me back at the house. Be very careful. Drive around and make sure no one is waiting for you.
“Take care Andrzej.”
“I will see you later then, at the house. Will you be able to empty Henryk’s store on your own, Peter?”
“The beacons, yes, but nothing else. Now off you go, be careful and be quick.”
As the van disappeared from sight, Peter walked a short distance to the garage where he kept his Jaguar. The last thing he wanted was for this car to be noticed, but now he was forced to drive to a rough area of the City, one where such a super car would never go. There was no time to steal another vehicle, so it was a chance he had to take.
Inside the garage, Peter fitted the false number plates, then set off to clear Henryk’s beacons.
***
The night was dark as soot when Peter glided quietly up to Henryk’s lockup. He stopped the car, switched the engine off and got out. When his eyes had fully adjusted to the darkness, he looked around to check whether anyone was watching, not that he would have seen them hiding, but it seemed safe.
In the feeble torchlight, he checked the bottom of the lockup door frame for a rusty nail. He worked it loose and listened for the faint sound of the string as it pulled through the hole, back into the building. The nail was there to trap the end of the string attached to the booby trap. Now the trap was disarmed, the door could be opened safely.
He carefully checked the neatly stored items for any signs of tampering or some oth
er booby trap. This lockup was Henryk’s responsibility and he might well have decided not to trust anyone on the team. Peter had warned them all to distrust everyone, and what better way to deal with an intruder than lay a trap for them. Well, Peter had done just that, in his own lockup.
Everything was safe, so he hastily picked up the large suitcase sized package, containing Henryk’s portion of beacons, and placed it in the car boot. After making some alterations to the booby trap, he closed and locked the door, and drove back to meet Andrzej at the house.
“Have you stowed the beacons away safely in your lockup, and have you set the booby trap?”
“Yes to both Peter. I have been very careful to drive slowly and have checked I was not followed.”
“Well done Andrzej.
“By the way, I have a plan. We need to find out where Anna and Henryk are being held, and it will require some trickery and a great deal of good luck.
Interrogation. 22nd December 1943
Henryk was taken straight away to Camp 020, Latchmere House for interrogation by MI5, headed up by John Caplin. He gave orders to get results by any measure, the fate of the nation hung in the balance.
Henryk knew it was all over for him now, and he didn’t care. He just kept replaying Jane’s final moments as she died, it was all he had left in his world. She had made the effort to roll her head and look at him, her beautiful smile was just for him. She knew death was seconds away and did that one thing for him, she had forgiven him. He could only guess the agony she was in, the feeling of choking as she coughed up blood and suffocation as she drowned in it.
Everyone could see the mental state of Henryk Robak, and they felt glad he was suffering. They all wanted to take him to ‘the room’ as it was euphemistically called and torture him, personally. The less he confessed the more reason to hurt him.
John Caplin however, was only interested in catching the remaining three spies. He believed their prisoner was in such a distressed state, the gentle approach was best, for now. They sat him down at the front of a vacant desk, in the middle of the busy operations room and, in anticipation of the need to write or draw, they transferred his handcuffs around to the front. Henryk placed his shackled arms upon the desk, lowered his head onto them and sobbed quietly.